Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 10

Grace Stenbeck-Werner’s grand pony hunter and large pony hunter titles with Prestige at USEF Pony Finals were a long time coming.

“I remember when I was younger, I’d always watched Pony Finals and I’d always dreamed of winning it,” she said. “So it’s a really big deal for me.”

Stenbeck-Werner came back on top with her own Prestige, a 13-year-old Belgian Riding Pony (Ive Van De Delthoeve—Bichette Du Moulin De Pierres) for the jumping phase. It’s a position she’d been in earlier in the week with her large green pony, who tipped a rail out of the cups in the jumping phase to fall out of contention.

“I think there wasn’t much pressure because I was just like ‘It’s my last round, I haven’t had the best past rounds,’ ” she said. “I just wanted to go in there and have a solid round.”

Stenbeck-Werner laid down a spectacular trip with Prestige to earn scores that soared up to 92.20 to win the jumping phase, the large pony hunter title and the grand pony hunter title. Reserve large pony champions Higher Love, owned by the Lignelli Family, and Emi Richard earned the reserve grand championship title.

Stenbeck-Werner, 11, has been riding the pony for about two years.

“He’s really just the sweetest ever,” she said. “He’s the sweetest in the barn and in the ring. He’s never done anything bad before and he’s just a unicorn.

“He likes a lot of leg—he sometimes can be a little lazy—but still some connection,” she added. “He’s just really one of the easiest ponies I’ve ever ridden.”

While his official barn name is “Prince” he also goes by “King,” “Because we say he’s not a prince,” said Stenbeck-Werner.

Stenbeck-Werner trains with David Belford of New Hope Farm in Ohio at horse shows and with Maddie Flocks at home in North Salem, New York.

“Grace is amazing,” said Flocks. “We have a lot of fun.”

“She just has natural instinct,” added Belford of Stenbeck-Werner. “She has natural balance. She has all those things then Prestige and her have this great bond together because of his rhythm and they’re really in sync with each other and it just seems effortless. And I think that at this age, she really is showing that she has the ability to go the mile.”

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You can see all the Chronicle’s coverage from USEF Pony Finals here, and check out the Sept. 23 issue of the magazine as well. Be sure you’re following the Chronicle on Instagram and Facebook @Chronofhorse.